New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday signed two executive orders directing his agencies to bring the Rikers Island jail complex and homeless shelters into compliance.
The mayor also instructed the Law Department to work with the federal monitor and all parties in Nunez v. City of New York to develop a plan to implement City Council’s Local Law 42, which bans solitary confinement.
“I was elected because of my values, and my promise to always be honest with New Yorkers — and now is a moment for blunt truths. The previous administration’s refusal to meet their legal obligations on Rikers has left us with troubling conditions that will take time to resolve,” Mamdani said in a statement.
Emergency Executive Order 1 instructs the Department of Corrections and the Law Department to develop a plan within 45 days to come into compliance with the Board of Corrections’ Minimum Standards, in addition to implementing Local Law 42.
Former Mayor Eric Adams had signed two executive orders in July 2024 that blocked LL 42 from taking effect. Despite a judge in June 2025 issuing a decision that said Adams had exceeded his emergency powers, the law was not implemented by the previous administration.
Emergency Executive Order 2 instructs the Law Department and Department of Social Services to develop a plan within 45 days to come into compliance with city shelter law requiring cooking facilities in shelters for families with children and capacity limits on adult shelters.
Effective immediately, the executive order will also end the suspension of a broad range of health and safety codes, building codes, and land use rules, which the city used to open new migrant shelters called Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Centers within 45 days.
